Jeanne Dugas of Acadia

by Cassie Deveaux Cohoon

  It seemed to Jeanne that Joseph was particularly concerned about his relations with the Mi’kmaq. There was a lot of communication between the Acadians at Port Toulouse and the Mi’kmaq while they were camped by the ocean in the summer. And Joseph kept in close touch with Jean Sauvage. He was older than Joseph, and Jeanne’s brother respected and looked up to him. Joseph said one day that he admired the way the Mi’kmaq lived – off the intelligence of the land – and the way they respected that land and all of God’s creatures on it.

  On one of his frequent visits to the Dugas habitation, Jean Sauvage brought his nephew with him. Martin Sauvage was a few years older than Jeanne, and she thought he must be the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was tall and slim, with strong, regular features set in the serious expression of the Mi’kmaq. Only when he smiled or laughed did his expression change, and it had the effect of a bright sun breaking through clouds. Jeanne surprised herself with this image, and chided herself for thinking such thoughts. Sometimes Martin came to visit on his own, but always for a purpose – to bring a gift of berries or a fish he had caught.

  —

  Life went on. Joseph and his father-in-law continued to talk about the political situation and how they could take advantage of events to return to their lucrative cabotage activities. Le Maigre had no ship, and no means to buy one, but Joseph still had one schooner.

  Chapter 15

  The news from Nova Scotia was worrisome. The Acadians were once again concerned about their status in the now-British colony. In 1749, after the return of Île Royale to the French, the new British governor, Edward Cornwallis, had arrived in the colony with plans to establish a new fort at Halifax and to bring in a large number of new settlers. It was intended as a counterbalance to Louisbourg and as protection for British trade with the English colonies.

  Uncertain of their standing, a group of Acadians from Nova Scotia approached the Governor with an offer to renew the conditional oath of allegiance sworn to earlier. Cornwallis demanded that they now sign an unconditional oath of allegiance that would oblige them to bear arms for the British crown. They refused, and the British authorities would not listen to their arguments.

  The arrogant new Governor also incurred the wrath of the Mi’kmaq. They had approached the Governor in a friendly manner, expressing their concern that he was proposing to build his fort and settlement on land that they had been living on for many years and that was sacred to them. The Governor ignored their request for a discussion on the matter.

  He decided that the best way to deal with the Mi’kmaq was to simply eliminate them from the land. He announced his plan to destroy them with a proclamation stating that the British would “pursue them to their haunts and show them that because of such actions, they shall not be secure within the Province ... and that a reward of ten Guineas be granted for every Indian Micmac taken, or killed.” There were rumours that in the ensuing bloodletting, some Acadian scalps also found their way into the Governor’s hands. He did not succeed in destroying the Mi’kmaq, who despite their gentle nature were also fierce warriors. And he made an enemy.

  Chapter 16

  Joseph had continued his habit of taking Jeanne into his confidence on political events ever since she was a little girl, and now he told her that if Louisbourg and Île Royale fell once more to the British, they probably would not find refuge in Grand-Pré.

  “Where will we go, Joseph?”

  He just shrugged. The confident brother who had reassured and protected Jeanne through the fall of Louisbourg was now admitting his uncertainty.

  “It will be all right,” she said. “You’ll see.” It seemed that the tables were turned, with Jeanne trying to give her brother comfort and reassurance. But she knew they were just words.

  —

  In the spring of 1752, on one of her visits to the Bois family, Jeanne expressed her worries. Marie tried to reassure her. “You must have faith,” she said. “We are all in the same situation. Remember that your brother Joseph is a very capable man.”

  Pierre fils, Marie’s son, joined in the conversation, he too trying to calm her fears.

  Annoyed, she thought to herself, It’s his inexperience speaking. Jeanne had thought of young Pierre Bois as just a boy when she arrived in Port Toulouse. Now he was starting to take on the appearance of a man. When she left to return home, he told her he would accompany her.

  “Yes,” his mother said, “go with her, Pierre. You should not be walking home alone, Jeanne. It’s really not safe.”

  They walked back in companionable silence. As they were approaching her house, Pierre stopped and took her hand.

  “Jeanne,” he said, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.” He looked down at the ground. “I’m a man now.” He looked up at her.

  “Really. And I think it’s time for me to take a wife.” He paused, as if waiting for some word of encouragement. But Jeanne was silent.

  “I think you would make a wonderful wife. Would you think about it? Consider marrying me?”

  Jeanne laughed nervously, not knowing what to say. He let go of her hand.

  “Pierre, I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you. I’m sure you will make some lucky girl a wonderful husband. But my brother Joseph needs me. I can’t just walk away from him and his family. And I’m older than you are, Pierre,” she said with a smile, trying to make light of his proposal.

  “What does that matter?” he asked. “Please think about it, Jeanne? Please?” She nodded hesitantly and watched him walk away.

  Jeanne was dumbfounded. The thought of Pierre Bois as a man and possible suitor had never occurred to her. She did not want to hurt his feelings, and hoped he would simply forget about this.

  He did not try to rush her into changing her mind, but he kept in contact with Joseph and his family, which included her. Pierre told Joseph that he was hoping to become a caboteur. He had already worked as a deckhand for several seasons on schooners sailing out of Port Toulouse, saving the money he earned toward building a ship of his own. Of course Joseph encouraged him. He even suggested that he could perhaps use Pierre as part of his crew if he started trading again.

  Jeanne was uncomfortable. She could not very well object to Pierre’s presence without explaining herself, which she did not want to do. To complicate matters, Martin Sauvage was also becoming a frequent visitor to the Dugas habitation, and Jeanne had to admit, if only to herself, that her heart beat faster at the sight of him.

  Marie Braud understood what was happening and gently teased Jeanne one day. When Jeanne snapped at her, she said she was sorry. “I only wish I had two suitors,” Marie said with a sigh.

  Joseph finally caught on to the situation one day.

  “Jeanne,” he said, “why am I running into either Pierre Bois bringing us vegetables from his mother’s garden, or Martin Sauvage bringing us still more berries?”

  Jeanne blushed and Marie Braud hid a smile.

  “Ah, Jeanne ... Jeanne.” Joseph did not know what to say. He put his arm around her shoulders with a gentle squeeze. “We will talk later.”

  Mon Dieu, she thought, I’ve given Joseph another problem to add to everything else. Honestly, she did not even know what she herself wanted. But did it matter?

  That evening, after the children and Marie were asleep, Joseph approached her. “Well, Jeanne....”

  Yes, she thought, Well, Jeanne ... and could not help but blurt out: “What? Are you asking me to explain to you what I feel? I don’t even know myself. I don’t even know from one day to the other what my life is or will be. I don’t know who or what I am most of the time. Oh, I’m sorry, Joseph, I’m really sorry. None of this is your fault. And I’m not sorry that I came here with you.”

  She paused and continued in a calmer voice, looking at him very seriously, “I do know, Joseph, that if I don’t marry, I’ll be just another person you have to look after
when your children are grown and you don’t need me anymore.”

  “Jeanne! Don’t speak like that!” he said angrily. Then he was silent for a short while, allowing some time for the two of them to calm down.

  “Jeanne, you know I only want what is best for you. And I think you know that I would do anything I can to make you happy. But you know as well as I do that these are difficult times.”

  “Yes, I know that very well, Joseph. So tell me, does that mean that I had better marry the first man who asks me?”

  “Has Pierre asked you to marry him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Has Martin?”

  “No.” There was a glimmer of a tear in her eye.

  “Have you asked yourself what Maman would say?”

  “No. I don’t think she would understand. She thought I would marry a rich man in Louisbourg and lead the life of a gentlewoman.” Jeanne smiled wryly. “And here I am. It’s not fair, Joseph. You and Charles and Abraham have all married girls you loved.”

  “Yes, I know, Jeanne. And I can understand that you are attracted to Martin Sauvage. I believe he is a very fine man. I like him very much. But, quite apart from the fact that he is Mi’kmaw and you would have to adapt to his family’s way of life, there is also the dangerous political situation the Mi’kmaq are in now. Martin is a good and gentle man, but he is also a warrior. If the fighting continues between the Mi’kmaq and the British, there is no telling what may happen to him, or to you. I’m sure he understands that.”

  “But it’s not fair, Joseph.”

  “No, Jeanne, it isn’t. If life were fair, we would not be in this situation. You would be wearing beautiful silk gowns with hoop skirts and fighting off wealthy suitors in Louisbourg.” Joseph was trying to make her smile. “What about Pierre Bois?”

  “I don’t know, Joseph.”

  “Why not? He’s Acadian,” Joseph said with a smile. “He’s young, ambitious and energetic. He annoys me at times, but I think his heart is in the right place.”

  “Is that your way of saying that he’s not quite up to the standards that you and Maman and Monsieur de la Tour would have wanted for me? He’s not even from a well-to-do Acadian family. Mon Dieu, how can we even think that way now?”

  “Jeanne, think about all this for awhile. You don’t have to decide right this minute. In the meantime,” he said with a smile, “we’ll keep getting a good supply of vegetables and berries.”

  “Joseph, that’s not funny.”

  “Yes, it is. Go to bed, Jeanne.”

  She lay awake thinking for a long time. Now she had two distinct worries on her mind. First, what might be the consequences of the worsening political situation if Louisbourg again fell to the British. If they could not take refuge in Grand-Pré, where could they go to avoid deportation to France? In this case, if even in her own mind the possibility of her marrying Martin was very remote, as the wife of a Mi’kmaq would she perhaps avoid deportation? Second, what might be the consequences if she married Pierre Bois? For instance, would this mean separation from Joseph and his family if they had to flee?

  Joseph knew she was worried. One day he rubbed the frown from her brow as he used to do when she was a little girl. “I’m sorry, Jeanne,” he said.

  —

  That year Joseph started his trading activities again, with his father-in-law Joseph Leblanc dit Le Maigre as a partner and Pierre Bois included as a member of the crew. At first Joseph tried to re-establish the kind of trade he had been doing when he was based at Louisbourg, but he found it difficult after his years away. It was not long, however, before he tapped into a newly lucrative trade – transporting Acadians from Nova Scotia to Île Saint-Jean. After the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the small number of Acadians who left the new British colony of Nova Scotia had gone mainly to Île Royale. Now, with the fate of Île Royale once again in doubt, Île Saint-Jean seemed a better choice.

  The Acadians now fleeing Nova Scotia were doing so illegally, but with the encouragement of the French authorities, who were anxious to increase the number of French settlers on Île Saint-Jean. To this end the French were offering to pay the Acadians’ passages and to give them a stipend to help their resettlement.

  This was a dangerous form of cabotage, but Joseph and others would make several hundred crossings carrying refugees and food supplies to the island from the Tatamagouche area of Nova Scotia. It not only paid well, but Jeanne could see her brother come alive again. It was clear that he loved being on the sea, that he loved the risks involved and the feeling of playing a part in the unfolding events.

  It became another source of worry for Jeanne. What would happen to them if Joseph were captured, or injured or lost at sea?

  She again confided her fears to Pierre’s mother, but Marie Bois had only a very vague idea of the political situation. Her life revolved around her husband, their large brood of children and her faith that all would be well. She was not unsympathetic to Jeanne’s fears and worries, but seemed to think it unseemly for a young woman to be so concerned. She was also, Jeanne knew, all in favour of having Jeanne for a daughter-in-law and praised her son Pierre’s virtues every chance she got.

  Before he left to crew on Joseph’s schooner, Pierre again approached Jeanne to ask for her hand in marriage. This time he was bolder. He told her he loved her very much.

  “I’m afraid I was not very clear when I spoke to you before,” he said. “I didn’t just mean I needed a wife. I meant that I wanted very much to have you for my wife. Will you please consider marrying me, Jeanne? Seriously? I do love you, Jeanne.”

  She told him, “I cannot give you an answer yet, Pierre.” She knew this was unfair. She had no intention of marrying him.

  —

  When the sailing season closed in the fall, Pierre brought her a gift he had obtained from another ship. It was a length of yellow silk suitable for a gown. It was not the quality of her blue silk gown, but it made Jeanne catch her breath. She was touched by the gesture.

  “I know it’s not as beautiful as your blue silk gown,” he said.

  “How do you know about my gown?” she asked.

  “Joseph told me.”

  She wondered if Joseph had also told him that she wanted to marry for love.

  “I’m going to start building my boat this winter, Jeanne. My father and grandfather are going to help me.” His grandfather Jean Coste, his mother’s father, was well known as a superb navigator and shipbuilder.

  Jeanne confided in Marie Braud, who could not understand Jeanne’s reluctance to marry Pierre. “I would have him to husband in a wink,” she said.

  Martin Sauvage had not been seen for months.

  —

  The end of the sailing season also brought the news that a new Governor of Nova Scotia had been appointed in August. Pere-grine Hopson was known to the settlers. He had been sent to relieve the British garrison at Louisbourg in 1746 and was in command when it was returned to the French in 1749. He was known as a reasonable man, a facilitator and a conciliator. His return from England to be the governor was generally seen as a good omen by both the Acadians and the Mi’kmaq.

  “Ah, Joseph, is that some good news at last?” Jeanne asked.

  “I cannot lie to you, Jeanne. The situation is still serious.” Joseph added that he had managed to see their brother Charles during the season. Charles had told him that if things became too difficult they were planning to flee Grand-Pré to go the Miramichi area beyond Nova Scotia. He had suggested that Joseph and his family should join them.

  “Joseph,” Jeanne said hesitantly, “Pierre has again asked me to marry him. And he said he loves me. Did you have anything to do with that?”

  Joseph smiled. “I know he loves you very much, Jeanne. I may have encouraged him to say it. But how do you feel about him?”

  “I guess I love him a little bit. Do you t
hink I should marry him?”

  “Jeanne, it is for you to make that decision. You are a very intelligent woman. A strong woman. You do what you feel is right and that way you will never regret it.”

  “I think ... I think I will marry him.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good! Now maybe you should tell him.”

  When Pierre appeared at the door the next day and looked at her expectantly, she said, “Yes, I will marry you, Pierre.” He gave a whoop and swept her into a hug. He was a bit shorter than her, but she found that she fit quite well into his arms. “Will you come with me to tell my family?” he asked. Joseph accompanied them.

  The Bois family was delighted with the news, especially Pierre’s mother. Her son was the first boy after four girls, and Jeanne knew he was very special to her. Everybody started to speak at once, making plans for the happy event. At the end of the day, there were plans for a wedding to take place just before the start of Advent, plans to build a piquet house for the new couple on the Dugas land, and promises from Pierre’s father and grandfather Coste that the new schooner would be ready in the spring.

  Jeanne allowed herself to get caught up in the excitement. Yet, lying awake on her paillasse that night, she had the same sense she had had during her family’s last year in Louisbourg – that she was living on two levels: one the happy events of the day and the other the dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over all of them.

  With the sailing and harvesting seasons over, their neighbours joined the Dugas and Bois men in a houseraising. The new piquet house was built near Joseph’s and his father-in-law’s habitations. Joseph and Pierre’s father made a table and benches, a bedstead and other simple furniture. Pierre’s mother fashioned a straw paillasse and provided some linens. In the meantime, Pierre and grandfather Coste started to work on Pierre’s new schooner.

  Joseph had seen his brothers Charles and Abraham in Grand-Pré during the summer and told them of the possibility of Jeanne’s marriage. On their last meeting the two brothers sent Joseph back laden with gifts from Grand-Pré, including linen and woollen goods, dishes and provisions of grains and other foodstuffs from their gardens. Joseph also gave generously, of course, providing the couple with two cows and one hen.